Rory McIlroy has now said that he was too judgmental about players switching, and has accepted that LIV Golf is a 바카라part of our sport now바카라. He had earlier referred to defections as players wanting to take the easy way out
Rory McIlroy has gone from being the harshest critic of LIV Golf to extending an olive branch. He said on a British football podcast on Wednesday he was too judgmental about players defecting and has accepted that LIV is 바카라part of our sport now.바카라 (More Golf News)
He referred to Jon Rahm's decision to join LIV Golf last month as a 바카라smart business move.바카라
McIlroy also suggested he helped instigate discussions with the PGA Tour and the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. He said he met with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Public Investment Fund, at the end of 2022 in Dubai.
바카라When I got back to America, I was on the board of the PGA Tour and I said to the guys, Someone has got to go talk to this guy.' Then there was a plan put in place that one of the board members would try to develop a relationship with him,바카라 McIlroy said.
He said on the 바카라Stick to Football바카라 podcast the surprise was how quickly a deal came together. Board member Jimmy Dunne and chairman Ed Herlihy arranged the first meeting after the Masters in April.
ALSO READ: Diksha Dagar's Goal For Paris Olympics
The PGA Tour and PIF announced the agreement for a commercial deal on June 6.
The podcast was posted a day before the PGA Tour begins a new year that includes eight 바카라signature events바카라 with limited fields and $20 million purses, a model that McIlroy helped orchestrate over the last year.
He resigned from the policy board in November, saying it was taking up too much of his time. The framework agreement missed its Dec. 31 deadline to get finalized, and now the PGA Tour also is negotiating with a private group of U.S. investors.
McIlroy referred to early defections to LIV as players wanting to take the easy way out, and said that players were being duplicitous for pledging support and then taking the Saudi cash.
He had said no peace could be made as long as Greg Norman was in charge, and as recently as July said he 바카라hates바카라 LIV and hoped it went away. 바카라If LIV Golf was the last place to play golf on Earth, I would retire. That's how I feel about it,바카라 he said in July.
His tone began to soften when Rahm, the Masters champion, became arguably the biggest name to leave, because the 29-year-old Spaniard is entering the peak of his career.
바카라I think, at this point, I was maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start, and I think it was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realize that not everyone is in my position or in Tiger Woods' position," McIlroy said on the podcast.
바카라We all turn professional to make a living playing the sports that we do, and I think that's what I realized over the last two years. I can't judge people for making that decision.바카라
McIlroy said his biggest beef is players leaving and speaking poorly about the PGA Tour or European tour because that's what gave players their start in the game.
He also said the tour's deal announced June 6 legitimized what LIV is trying to do and 바카라made it easier for guys to jump.바카라
바카라Jon Rahm has not got any of the heat that the first guys got for going,바카라 McIlroy said. 바카라I think Jon, he's smart. And I think he sees things coming together at some point. ... I thought it was a smart business move. It was opportunistic."
And because Rahm is exempt in all the majors for five years or more, McIlroy said, there was little risk of the Masters champion leaving.
바카라I have no problem with Jon going if that's what he wants to do,바카라 McIlroy said. 바카라Who am I to say different?바카라
McIlroy said while he doesn't feel he 바카라lost the fight바카라 against LIV, he has accepted that it is part of the sport. He says if anything, the concept of LIV Golf has exposed flaw in the tour system because the rival league guarantees all its stars will be at tournaments.
PGA Tour players can pick and choose where they play. McIlroy, for example, is the only eligible player not at Kapalua for the season-opening tournament. He says the PGA Tour is raising the cost to sponsor tournaments without being able to guarantee who will play.
Wells Fargo already has said it would no longer sponsor the signature event at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina after this year.
바카라I can't believe the PGA Tour has done so well for so long,바카라 he said.